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LOT 0198
Byzantine Bronze Steelyard Weight of an Empress
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/4 in. (630 grams, 94 mm).
Filled with lead and formed as the upper body of an empress wearing a pleated palla, her hair arranged in loose curls around the face, suspension loop to the head.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
Acquired by the current owner in 1999.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00038155.
Cf. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York under accession number 67.154.1, for similar.
FootnotesThe choice of the image of the empress for an official weight may have been to display fairness and equality before the law in commercial matters, as well as to bolster the authority of the imperial family.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0198
Byzantine Bronze Steelyard Weight of an Empress
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
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Byzantine Bronze 'in favour for health' Inscribed Ring
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Slender hoop and disc bezel with Greek text ΥΠΕΡ ΥΓΙΕΙΑΣ (in favour / for health' written retrograde for use as a seal. 1.66 grams, 21.53 mm overall, 19.44 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. -
Byzantine Inscribed Bifacial Silver Amulet with 90th Psalm
6th-8th century AD.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Leaf-shaped panel with loop; inscribed with legend from the 90th Psalm: Ο ΚΑ-ΤYKOΝ(sic) ЄΝ ΒΟΗ-ΘΙΑ(sic) Τ-Ꮜ / ΥΨHC-ΤΟΥ(sic) ЄΝ CΚЄΠI(sic) ΤΟΥ Θ-ЄΟ-Υ. Translation: He that dwells in the help of the Highest, [shall sojourn] under the shelter of the God [of heaven]. 0.76 grams, 19 mm
From an early 20th century collection. -
Byzantine Gold Ring with Cabochon Garnets
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
With gusset to the hoop, each triangular shoulder with three cells containing garnet cabochons, bezel a piriform cell with granules and inset garnet cabochon. 4.04 grams, 23.53 mm overall, 18.52 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
